1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of compositions comprising copper ions in combination with an organic compound having at least two hydroxyl groups and a carbon-carbon unsaturated bond for the treatment or prevention of mastitis, e.g. bovine mastitis.
2. Description of the Art
Bovine mastitis is an infection of the udder of ruminants such as cows, mainly caused by gram positive bacteria and especially in cows in intensive milk producing units. It results in the inflammation of the mammary gland (i.e., teats and udder). The disease is particularly troublesome and of considerable economic importance because the pathogen is readily transferred from one animal to another during the milking process. Some of the main pathogens causing bovine mastitis are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Streptoccus dysgalactiae, Escherichia coli, Aerobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Corynebacterium Pyogene).
Any composition, useful for the treatment or prevention of bovine mastitis should be effective against most or all of the above pathogens, relatively fastacting, non-irritating to the teats or udder of the cow and, preferably, if the composition or its reaction product becomes incorporated in the milk, the composition or the reaction product should be innocuous, otherwise the milk would have to be discarded.
Bovine mastitis has so far been treated mainly by administering anti-microbial agents such as antibiotics, e.g. Penicillin G, Dihydrostreptomycin, and the like. However, it has been recently found to be very desirable to replace antibiotics by non-antibiotic drugs since the above pathogens may build up a resistance to the antibiotic resulting in pathogen strains that are more harmful to both the cows and the consumer of the milk, i.e. man.
It has thus been very important to find a method for the treatment of bovine mastitis utilizing a non-antibiotic compound which substantially would overcome the drawbacks of antibiotics utilized so far. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,666 to Wedig et al. it is disclosed that the use of metallic salts of pyridine-2-thione-N-oxide will treat or prevent bovine mastitis. However, at certain concentrations, these metallic salts appeared to increase the sensitivity of the cow's udder to the palpation and caused inflammation. Furthermore, milk production was reduced.
It is known that certain metal ions may be used to provide microbiocidally-active compositions. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,490,389; 4,581,374 and 4,581,379 to Nelson et al. disclose the use of solutions of copper ion and ene-diol compounds, e.g. ascorbic acid, for sterilizing contact lenses. U.S. Pat. No. 3,681,492 to Kotzbauer discloses microbiocidally-active aqueous solutions of ascorbic acid and cupric ion, stabilized by certain watersoluble amines or ammonium salts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,655 to Maurer et al. discloses antimicrobial agents containing a metal complex of a metal ion, e.g. copper and a polyfunctional organic ligand, e.g. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or citric acid. The function of the organic ligand appears to be to control the release of the metal ion from the complex. U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,430 to Fahim et al. discloses a topical oral composition, i.e. a mouth wash, comprising a zinc salt and ascorbic acid. None of the above references suggest the use of copper ion in combination with an organic polyol, having at least one carbon-carbon unsaturated bond, for the treatment or prevention of bovine mastitis.